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Lorgat: Corruption is everywhere

9 March 2012

Haroon Lorgat, chief executive of the International Cricket Council, told Global Sports Forum Barcelona 2012 delegates that any televised match in the world is now a target for corruption.

“What we have discovered is that the issue is everywhere. So as we have recently tackled match-fixing at an international level, all we have done is displace it to a local level, » he said in the Gambling in sport: How much is good for business? discussion. “In essence any game that is televised is a target for corruption.”

FIFA’s Head of Security Chris Eaton, who leaves his position in May to join the Qatar-based International Center for Sport Security (ICSS), endorsed Lorgat’s displacement argument, citing a recent example in South Korea where several footballers were given lifetime bans following a match-fixing investigation in 2011. Eaton said that once the investigation into the country’s football leagues had concluded, similar problems started arising in the country’s baseball and volleyball leagues.

“The corruptors never go away,” added Lorgat. “They just find another means. They are creative in the way that they will get to the ultimate dollar they want to make. You simply have to put all your resources in place to protect your sports integrity.”

John Abbott, chairman of the INTERPOL Steering Group for the INTERPOL/FIFA initiative, and Norbert Teufelberger, Co-CEO of bwin.party digital entertainment, were the other members on the panel moderated by Warren Phelops, Partner at K&L Gates.